Athletes to donate brains for concussion study

BOSTON -- Former NFL linebacker Isaiah Kacyvenski quickly agreedwhen his ex-teammate at Harvard asked whether he would donate hisbrain after death for research into concussions.

"It's a noble cause," he said recently. "It's something close to
my heart. I've had several concussions."

Kacyvenski, 30, is one of 16 pro athletes, including six former
NFL players, who have agreed to donate their brains to the new
Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy, a joint program
between the Boston University School of Medicine and Sports Legacy
Institute.

SLI founder Chris Nowinski played with Kacyvenski at Harvard in
the late 1970s before becoming a pro wrestler and is seeking
athletes willing to donate their brains.

"Our goal is for people to start taking concussions seriously,"
Nowinski said. "That means getting off the field when they receive
them and finding ways to prevent them."

Other former NFL players who have agreed to donate their brainsafter their deaths are Ted Johnson, Frank Wycheck, Ben Lynch,Bernie Parrish and Bruce Laird, said Nowinski, who also agreed todonate his brain. Among other athletes participating are formerU.S. Olympic swimmer Jenny Thompson, hockey player Noah Welch, whoplayed last year for the Florida Panthers, and former U.S. nationalsoccer team player Cindy Parlow.

"I'm not being vindictive. I'm not trying to reach up from thegrave and get the NFL," Johnson, a former New England Patriotslinebacker, told the New York Times for a story published on itsWeb site. "But any doctor who doesn't connect concussions withlong-term effects should be ashamed of themselves."

The 35-year-old's neurologist has pointed to Johnson's multiple
concussions between 2002-05 as a cause of his permanent and
degenerative problems with memory and depression, the Times
reported.

Kacyvenski, who played for Seattle from 2000 until joining St.
Louis early in 2006, his final NFL season, said the study is not an
indication that the NFL is at fault.

"There might be a connotation that this is a witch hunt, point
the finger at the NFL," he said. "It's just not like that."

The NFL is overseeing a study of retired players on the effects
of concussions that should be completed by 2010, spokesman Greg
Aiello said.

"We support all research that would further the scientific and
medical understanding of this injury, which affects thousands of
people, athletes and non-athletes alike, every year," he said.
"Hundreds of thousands of people have played football and other
sports without experiencing any problem of this type and there
continues to be considerable debate within the medical community on
the precise long-term effects of concussions and how they relate to
other risk factors."

The BU School of Medicine has studied the brain of John
Grimsley, a former linebacker for the Houston Oilers, who died last
February at age 45 after being shot in his suburban Houston home in
what authorities said was an accident.

His brain showed similarities to that of an 80-year-old boxerwho had dementia for 20 years, said Dr. Robert Stern, co-directorof the BU School of Medicine Alzheimer's Disease Clinical andResearch Program.

"The donations will allow us to understand the long-term effects
of concussion in terms of degenerative brain disease," Stern said.
"We'll also hopefully understand what puts people at greater risk
for developing it."

Nowinski has seen greater awareness to dangers from
concussions.

"Whereas three years ago I tried to speak on this issue and
coaches were able to keep me out of their schools because they
didn't want their kids to be scared," he said, "now, for example,
we just ran all New Hampshire Pop Warner head coaches through an
educational program. They're now holding kids out much more often
because they can recognize the concussions better."

He said he suffered "nearly constant" headaches for four years
when he continued wrestling after getting kicked in the chin and
suffering a concussion during a bout.

For some, the decision to donate their brains is difficult.

"People have to face their own mortality when they make that
decision," Nowinski said.

Most of the people who have agreed to donate their brains are
fairly young, he said.

"We definitely will be increasing the number of older athletes
as we go along, so that hopefully none of the 30-year-olds will
ever have to donate their brains" because enough progress in
research will have been made by the time of their deaths, Nowinski
said.